Maffei passes Buerkle in race for cash as special interest money flows into both campaigns

Mike Greenlar / The Post StandardAnne Marie Buerkle (right) makes a point during a 2010 debate with Dan Maffei in the WSYR-TV Channel 9 studio. No debates between the candidates have been announced yet for their 2012 rematch.

Washington -- Former Rep. Dan Maffei entered the final four months of his bid to win back the Syracuse-area congressional seat with $115,000 more in his campaign account than Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle.

Maffei has $880,266 cash on hand in his account, compared to $765,104 for Buerkle, according to new campaign disclosure reports the candidates had to file Sunday with the Federal Election Commission.

Maffei pulled ahead in the race for campaign cash by raising more money than Buerkle in the period between June 7 and June 30, taking in $224,069 while the congresswoman raised $113,217, the FEC reports show.

Buerkle’s campaign today put a positive spin on the report, noting that this year’s full second quarter set a personal fundraising record for the first-term congresswoman. Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, took in $385,778 in April, May and June, compared to $364,785 for Maffei, a Democrat from DeWitt.

Buerkle’s campaign pointed out that Maffei has about $500,000 less in the bank than he did in 2010, when Maffei had the power of incumbency to raise money.

“Dan Maffei only has roughly 60 percent of the financial resources he had on June 30, 2010,” the Buerkle memo said, adding, “This does not bode well for Maffei.”

Both candidates continued to rely heavily on money from outside of Central New York to support their campaign, taking in almost half of their contributions from special-interest groups such as political action committees.

Buerkle raised $58,167 from individuals and $50,050 from PACs during the latest reporting period. Maffei raised $111,269 from individuals and $109,500 from PACs, according to the FEC.

Maffei's big donors this period included $5,000 contributions from unions such as the American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO ($15,000 total to his campaign to date), Committee on Letter Carriers PAC, IBEW Committee on Political Education ($15,000 to date), Ironworkers Political Action League ($10,000 to date), and NEA Fund for Children and Public Education.

Buerkle's big PAC donors included $5,000 contributions from the National Republican Congressional Committee ($10,000 to date), American Society of Anesthesiologists, and Prosperity PAC ($10,000 to date), the political action committee of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.

In an election that is expected to set a record-high for money raised in a Central New York congressional race, Maffei has now taken in $1,351,479 from all sources compared to $1,265,741 for Buerkle.